By Christina Hermoso
Marian devotees traditionally offer special prayers and novenas, light candles, offer flowers, and recite the holy rosary in observance of the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Wednesday, November 21) in the Temple of Jerusalem, which is believed to be the beginning of the preparation for Mary’s mission and destiny as the Mother of Jesus Christ.
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The Marian feast coincides with the observance of ‘Pro Orantibus’ Day, which means ‘For those who pray.’
According to an ancient tradition, Saints Joachim and Ann, the parents of the Blessed Mother, offered Mary at the young age of three, to God in thanksgiving and to consecrate her to the Lord as promised. Mary remained in the temple serving and helping the priests until her engagement to Joseph.
Also on Wednesday (November 21), the Church observes the ‘Pro Orantibus Day,’ a day of prayer for the cloistered and monastic religious throughout the world or those who have dedicated themselves to God in prayer, silence, and concealment.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI refers to the cloistered religious as “the heart of the Church which pumps life to the rest of the Body of Christ.” Saint John Paul II initiated the observance of ‘Pro Orantibus’ Day in 1997.